Jitendra Singh

Science and tech minister hails role of glass industry in India's growth

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Monday praised the significance of the glass industry in driving India's future economic growth, while highlighting the need for enhanced collaboration and awareness among academics, R&D centres, and the private sector. Addressing the International Congress on Glass organised by CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, the union minister of state for science and Technology and earth sciences stressed the growing importance of the recycling industry alongside manufacturing for sustainability. Glass is one sector which has a very high recyclability. The minister advocated for a "one institute one theme" approach to achieve better coordination and results. Singh also pushed for a campaign to raise public awareness about the glass industry's contributions to society. He further emphasised the need for greater collaboration between academic institutions, startups, and industry stakeholders to foster growth and innovation. Referring to the ...

PM Modi atoning for sins committed by Congress government: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is atoning for the sins committed by the Congress government and the triple talaq amendment is an example. The prime minister has atoned for the Congress' sins by bringing triple talaq amendment to give justice to sisters of a particular society and uplifting the poor, he said addressing the media here. Singh, who was here to take part in the state-level 'Samvidhaan Gaurav Abhiyan' programme, said it was the Congress, which always insulted BR Ambedkar and tried to defeat him in the elections. The Congress leaders, who always ignored Baba Saheb socially and politically, are today pretending to be his own for the sake of vote bank and spreading lies by distorting the statement of the BJP leaders, but people know that the party made 88 amendments in the Constitution by using or misusing Article 356 to serve its interests, he added. The minister said that Baba Saheb had made a huge contribution in making the ...

India achieves space docking with indigenous system: Jitendra Singh

Taking to X, Singh said, India has become the fourth country to join the select league of nations to achieve space docking, through its own indigenously developed Bharatiya Docking System

Govt planning to send human into deep sea in early 2026: Jitendra Singh

The Centre is planning to send a human into the deep sea with the mission likely to coincide with the human space mission in early 2026, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science, Jitendra Singh said on Thursday. Speaking at the 'Commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami' at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), he recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mentioned the Deep Sea Mission in the past Independence Day address. "We are also planning to send a human into the deep sea. I was telling Ravichandran (Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences) that it would be a strange coincidenceone human in space and another in the deep sea. This will happen almost simultaneously," Singh said. The human space mission, initially planned for 2025, may not take place next year, but is now expected in early 2026, he added. "... one Indian up there, and one Indian in the deep sea. That will be once again, a record of ...

Govt reforms must start at grassroot level: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said that the governance reforms must begin at the grassroot level to bring about long-lasting and meaningful change. In a significant step towards strengthening grassroots governance, he launched the Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi' initiative on Good Governance Day, celebrated very year to mark birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The initiative, which is part of the broader Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur' campaign, aims to enhance the capacity and competence of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) by equipping elected representatives and officials with the tools and knowledge required for effective governance and participatory planning, said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel. He emphasised "that governance reforms must begin at the grassroots to bring about long-lasting and meaningful change as well as to fill up the capacity gaps". Piloted in Odisha, Assam, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, the initiative leverages ...

Jitendra Singh to inaugurate National Workshop on Good Governance practices

Union Minister Jitendra Singh will inaugurate the National Workshop on 'Good Governance' practices tomorrow in New Delhi.The workshop will take place at Bhim Auditorium, Ambedkar International Centre.According to a statement from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, the minister will also inaugurate an exhibition showcasing the best practices of the Swachhata Campaign 4.0, curated by various ministries, and release the assessment report.The technical sessions will feature addresses by the Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), Secretary of Posts, Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Secretary of the Railway Board, Director General of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), and Director General of the National Archives of India (NAI).The workshop will see participation from 750 officials representing all ministries. This marks the fourth National Workshop on Good Governance Practices organised by the Department of ...

SCs, STs' representation in govt workforce as per prescribed limit: Centre

The representation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the central government workforce is as per the prescribed limit, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday. According to the information provided by the ministries/departments, as on January 1, 2024, the number of employees belonging to SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes, OBCs, is 5.47 lakh, 2.82 lakh and 8.55 lakh, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply. "The representation of SC and ST is as per the prescribed limit of 15% and 7.5% respectively. The representation of OBCs in direct recruitment has also consistently been more than 27% during the last 10 years," he said. To a query seeking reasons for removal of data on reservation in Union government jobs and positions from the Annual Report (2023-24) of DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training), Singh said obtaining data/information from ministries/ departments is a time-consuming process. "At the time of finalising

Over 400,000 backlog vacancies for SC,ST, OBC filled since 2016: Govt

More than four lakh backlog vacancies reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates in, have been filled since 2016, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday. "Occurrence and filling of vacancies, including the backlog reserved vacancies, is a continuous process," he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. Instructions have been issued to all ministries/departments of the central government to constitute an in-house committee for identification of backlog reserved vacancies, to study the root cause of such vacancies, to initiate measures to remove the factors causing such vacancies and to fill them up including through special recruitment drives, said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel. "As per the data furnished by the ministries/departments, more than 4 lakh backlog reserved vacancies in respect of SC/ST and OBC candidates have been filled up since 2016," he said. The minister said each ministry/department of t

Innovation should not remain confined to labs, says Jitendra Singh

Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday said scientific innovation must not remain confined to laboratories and should translate into impactful, market-ready solutions that empower industries and improve lives. Addressing a meeting of the secretaries of various science departments, Singh cited examples of successful government-supported innovations, encouraging departments to use these stories as models to inspire trust and investment from the private stakeholders. "Scientific innovation must not remain confined to laboratories. It should translate into impactful, market-ready solutions that empower industries and improve lives," he said. Singh said India could establish itself as a global leader in innovation and technology-led solutions by effectively marketing technologies. The minister advocated for frameworks that enable public-private collaboration to fast-track the commercialization of lab-scale breakthroughs. He stressed that such partnerships are essentia

22,956 second appeals, complaints pending in CIC: Centre tells Parliament

A total of 22,956 second appeals and complaints were pending in the Central Information Commission (CIC) as on November 29, the government informed Parliament on Thursday. The total number of second appeals and complaints filed in the CIC during the period from 2021-22 to 2023-24 was 59,069, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. "As on 29.11.2024, total number of second appeals and complaints pending in CIC is 22,596," he said. Further, a total of 36,787 second appeals and complaints were returned by the CIC during the period from 2022 to 2024, the minister added. To a question on the number of vacancies in the transparency watchdog, Singh said "at present, the CIC comprises of Chief Information Commissioner and two Information Commissioners". According to section 12(2) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the CIC shall consist of the chief information commissioner and such number of central informati

India's atomic power capacity to be tripled by 2032: Jitendra Singh

The union minister said that by 2031-32, the generation capacity would triple to 22,480 megawatts

Govt working on law to govern space sector: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

The government is working on a new law to govern the space sector which has witnessed reforms over the past four years with private players making a mark in building and launching satellites, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday. Singh said India's maiden human spaceflight programme -- Gaganyaan -- was also progressing well and the first uncrewed mission was expected to be launched early next year. "We are working on that," the minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) told a press conference here in response to a question on the timeline for the space activities bill, which would grant statutory cover to the reforms in the sector. Singh said the government had announced space sector reforms in 2020 with the aim to increase India's share in the global space economy. "Indian Space Policy was released in April 2023 as an overarching, composite and dynamic framework to implement the space reform vision approved by the Union Cabinet," he said. The minister sa

Filling up of vacant govt posts continuous process: Centre on vacancies

Occurrence and filling up of vacant posts is a continuous process and details of vacancies are maintained by the respective ministries or departments, the Centre said on Thursday. Ministries or departments of the central government have been directed, from time to time, to fill up the vacant posts in a time bound manner, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh told Rajya Sabha in a written reply. He was responding to a question seeking "details of the total number of vacancies in all central government ministries and departments to date, department-wise". "Occurrence and filling up of vacant posts in various ministries/departments is a continuous process. The details of vacancies are maintained by the respective ministry/department," Singh said. In response to another question, he said the contractual appointments in government departments are made by the individual ministries/departments strictly based on their requirements, in accordance with the provisions of Genera

63 'specialists' appointed in govt departments via lateral entry: Centre

As many as 63 specialists have been appointed in different Central government departments through the lateral entry mode from 2019 to 2023, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday. Of these, 35 were appointed on contract basis and the remaining 28 on deputation, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Jitendra Singh, said in a written reply in the Upper House. "Lateral recruitment at the levels of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary has been undertaken since 2018 to appoint persons for specific assignments, keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area," Singh said. Giving details, Singh said eight joint secretaries were appointed in 2019, including five on contractual basis and three through deputation from other government departments/organisations. Thitry recruitments were made in 2021 at the levels of joint secretary (3), director (18) and deputy secretary (9). Of these, 14 were on contract and 16 were through deputation, the minister .

Over 168k pensioners' grievances redressed in last two years: MoS

More than 1.68 lakh pensioners' grievances have been redressed in the last two years, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. In a written reply, he said the Centralised Pension Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPENGRAMS) has reduced the backlog with no case pending for more than two years as on date. The CPENGRAMS is an online system for redressal of pension-related grievances. "1,68,964 grievances have been resolved during last two years (from 01.11.2022 to 31.10.2024)," said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel. For the redressal of grievances of family pensioners and super-senior pensioners, specific categorisation of such grievances, including the delay in the start of family pension and additional pension, has been done for better monitoring, the minister said. Further, regular reminders are issued and monthly Inter-Ministerial Review Meetings (IMRMs) are conducted for such cases, he said. Also, under 100 days action plan, a month-lon

Changes in Whistle Blowers Protection Act not part of current session: Govt

The changes proposed in the Whistle Blowers Protection Act are not part of the approved legislative business of the current session of Parliament, the government said on Wednesday. The Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 was notified on May 12, 2014. In terms of provision of sub-section (3) of section 1 of the law, the provisions of the Act shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint, the government said. No such notification has been made by the government for the reason that the Act requires amendments aimed at safeguarding against disclosures affecting sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, etc., before it is brought into force, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply. To make these amendments to the Act, the government introduced the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in the Lok Sabha on May 11, 2015 which was passed by Lok Sabha on Ma

Family businesses key for India's $5 trillion economy: Jitendra Singh

The role of family businesses is indispensable in achieving India's vision of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy and a developed nation by 2047, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Tuesday. Family businesses are the backbone of India's economy, contributing more than 70 per cent to the GDP and employing a significant portion of the workforce, he said. "By 2047, this share is expected to rise to 80-85 per cent, highlighting their critical role in shaping the nation's future," the Union minister of state for personnel said. Addressing industry leaders at the Moneycontrol Family Business Awards - 2024, Singh "emphasised the indispensable role of family enterprises in achieving India's vision of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy and a developed nation by 2047, a mission spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi". The minister delved on schemes such as PM-Vishwakarma, which he said was best suited for corroborating the traditional family business in the nation, according to a ministr

Discussions on with Westinghouse for Kovvada nuclear project: Govt

The Union government on Tuesday said discussions were in progress with the Westinghouse Electric Company of the US for a viable project proposal to build six 1000-MW nuclear reactors at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh, said the land for the main plant area for Kovvada Nuclear Power Plant of 2079.66 acres has been acquired and mutated in the name of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Singh said 190.7 acres of land has been acquired for an R&R (rehabilitation and resettlement) colony and land for the employees' township has been identified by district administration. The minister said pre-project activities such as preliminary geotechnical investigations, and geological and seismo-tectonic studies have been completed. The construction of a 13-km boundary wall, the establishment of six micro earthquake stations and the establishment of one meteorological monitoring lab ..

Italian Min Urso meets MoS Jitendra Singh, discusses bilateral cooperation

Senior Italian Minister Adolfo Urso, currently on a visit to India, met Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Jitendra Singh to strengthen bilateral cooperation between India and Italy.The discussions focused on initiatives to enhance collaboration in the space sector."A high-level official delegation from #Italy, led by Senior Italian Minister Mr Adolfo Urso, called on to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Italy is also providing technical support to G20 Satellite for Environment & Climate, which was announced by PM Sh@narendramodiduring G20 Summit in 2023. Italy hosted 75th International Astronautical Congress at Milan this year while India will be hosting a similar global conference at New Delhi next year," Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in a post on X."Together, we can achieve remarkable milestones that benefit our two nations and the world as a whole," he added.Italy hosted the 75th International Astronautical Congress in Milan this year ...

MoS Jitendra Singh meets with institutional leaders on sidelines of IISF

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Jitendra Singh on Sunday called for strong StartUp-Industry linkage as the key to India's sustainable economic growth.He said this while addressing the Round Table of Institutional leaders from across the country on the sidelines of the India International Science Festival (IISF) 2024 here.The Round Table was attended by heads of all the important R & D institutes, Vice Chancellors of Universities and later joined by Industry leaders as well.In an address at the Round Table, the Minister emphasized the complete synergy of Research, Academia, StartUps and Industry to achieve the optimum goals. He underlined the pivotal role of science and innovation in driving India's journey towards becoming a developed nation, according to the Ministry of Science & Technology.Dr Jitendra Singh called for a strategic, collaborative approach involving academia, research institutions, and industry to tap into India's potential and push forward with